Windlass Steelcraft Khindjal
Recently, I just bought one of Windlass Steelcrafts reproduction Khindjals. This is my first time buying a Windlass product and for the most part i'm pretty well satisfied with it. There are only a couple of small issues I have with the weapon and the only ones I really don't care for are two bulbous protusions on the hilt.

My first question is what in the world are they? The second being whether or not it would be a really bad idea to try and remove them via filing or some other means.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
The two "bulbous protrusions" to which you refer are the heads of the rivets which secure the grip scales.
I'm not certain precisely how they are fashioned on your particular piece, but it would be wise to determine this before fiddling with them.
Unless of course you just want to re-hilt it.
Eric Meulemans wrote:
The two "bulbous protrusions" to which you refer are the heads of the rivets which secure the grip scales.
I'm not certain precisely how they are fashioned on your particular piece, but it would be wise to determine this before fiddling with them.
Unless of course you just want to re-hilt it.


Mr. Meulemans,

Thank you for the reply sir. I honestly am not sure as to how the rivet heads are attached. I finally managed to upload a picture of the hilt and the aforementioned rivet heads (I apologize for the grainy picture). If you don't mind taking a look and giving me your opinion, I would certainly appreciate it.

S.R. Lewis


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S.R. Lewis wrote:
Eric Meulemans wrote:
The two "bulbous protrusions" to which you refer are the heads of the rivets which secure the grip scales.
I'm not certain precisely how they are fashioned on your particular piece, but it would be wise to determine this before fiddling with them.
Unless of course you just want to re-hilt it.


Mr. Meulemans,

Thank you for the reply sir. I honestly am not sure as to how the rivet heads are attached. I finally managed to upload a picture of the hilt and the aforementioned rivet heads (I apologize for the grainy picture). If you don't mind taking a look and giving me your opinion, I would certainly appreciate it.

S.R. Lewis


So do these bulge out only on one side ? If it doesn't alter the hold of the bolts you could grind/file down these to a much less prominent dome shape and leave them only 1/8" to maybe 1/4" tall ?

Original Khindjals seem to have used similar bolts and some are high as these seem to be:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=Kindjal+dagger&...04&bih

The very tall bolt could actually be useful on the blade side in a way that a nagel on a messer can serve as a side guard ?
( Just speculation there . :confused: :?: ).

Link to a Topic about messers
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=10963&start=0
kindjal.
I have one of these. It is supposed to be a copy of a russian military kindjal. Something from the early 1900's I think. I am not sure what the brass protrusions would be for other than blade retention. They help in offering a good secure grip in a gloved hand. I personally like having them on the hilt and would not change them. If you did want to re hilt the blade though, I think it would look and work well with something modern like low profile micarta or g10 scales. The re hilt along with a nice kydex sheath could bring this very capable blade right into the 21st century. Anyways, I know that was a bit in a different direction...
Quote:
So do these bulge out only on one side ? If it doesn't alter the hold of the bolts you could grind/file down these to a much less prominent dome shape and leave them only 1/8" to maybe 1/4" tall ?

Original Khindjals seem to have used similar bolts and some are high as these seem to be:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=Kindjal+dagger&...04&bih

The very tall bolt could actually be useful on the blade side in a way that a nagel on a messer can serve as a side guard ?
( Just speculation there . :confused: :?: ).

Link to a Topic about messers
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=10963&start=0


The rivet heads are only one side of the hilt. I suppose I could experiment and see whether or not filing them down will alter the bolt's hold on the hilt scales. Your speculation has given me some pause though...I think I may hold off on any file/grinder work for a little while. Thank you very much for the helpful ideas. I really appreciate it!
Re: kindjal.
Dan Duke wrote:
I have one of these. It is supposed to be a copy of a russian military kindjal. Something from the early 1900's I think. I am not sure what the brass protrusions would be for other than blade retention. They help in offering a good secure grip in a gloved hand. I personally like having them on the hilt and would not change them. If you did want to re hilt the blade though, I think it would look and work well with something modern like low profile micarta or g10 scales. The re hilt along with a nice kydex sheath could bring this very capable blade right into the 21st century. Anyways, I know that was a bit in a different direction...


Don't really have any plans to re-hilt it or replace the scabbard. Though if I could find a local leatherworker, I might see if they can redo the leather on the scabbard. I never thought about how it might feel in a gloved hand. What sort of techniques do you think that might be employed in the use of a kindjal? Would it be similar in some ways to messer, dusack, or saber techniques? Thanks for all the helpful advice. I really appreciate it :)
As to how you fight with it, as far as i know you hold it blade down like many European dagger techniques but with the blade curving away from your body (it allows you to bring the point up much faster than on a strait dagger)
Re: kindjal.
Dan Duke wrote:
What sort of techniques do you think that might be employed in the use of a kindjal?


This video should give some idea of what you're looking for, starting at 1:18.

Though today often presented in a ritualized form or stylized dance (as here), there is a significant survival of these techniques in Georgian/Circassian culture and martial arts. Perhaps one of our members who is more familiar with this fascinating aspect of WMA (or who can read Georgian or Russian) might be able to provide more information, for which I would certainly be appreciative.

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